THE WONDER OF WOMAN

By Danna Shirley
We had three concepts to choose from for a story idea:
A Character ~ A Setting ~ A Genre

My character was Wonder Woman; Setting was elementary school; Genre was romance

Olivia had been a daredevil since she could walk. She climbed on steps, then stools and kitchen drawers, and finally tall trees. Her mom got exasperated to find her on the kitchen table or the top of the refrigerator and she would say every time, “Livi, you are unbelievable! Get down from there!”

Mom and Dad decided they needed to channel Olivia’s energy so they signed her up for gymnastics. It was the perfect thing to give her an outlet and teach her how to fall and roll without breaking any bones. She learned the cartwheel, the front tuck, the gainer, the hand stand. She would race and run and jump and twirl. Her feet barely touched the ground. She could almost fly!  

All the teachers and staff were cautious around Olivia, afraid she would cause a lawsuit, but her peers admired her cleverness and were in awe of her antics. On the playground she climbed to the top of the monkey bars in record time. She could dodge any ball and swing the highest of anyone. She was fearless! As she moved through her elementary school, each teacher would warn the next, “Watch out for Olivia. She is a curious spectacle of wonder.” By fifth grade she had earned the name “Wonder Woman.”

Most boys would have been jealous of a g-i-r-l who could do such things but Oscar was fascinated and proud to call Livi his friend. As she moved to middle school, her romps were perfected through her gymnastics skill and by freshman year she was no longer haphazard in her movements but structured and methodical.

“Os,” Livi asked one day as they met at their lockers. “Why don’t you join gymnastics and we can practice together?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” he replied. “I’m sure my folks can’t afford it and I’m probably too old now to get started. Besides, I’m busy with baseball.”

“But I can teach you. I’ll get you caught up and maybe we can do things as a team.”

“I thought gymnastics was an individual sport?”

“Well, yes, but I can make us a duo if you’ll be my spotter. Kind of like figure skating without the skates. What do you say?”

Oscar wasn’t sure about this but he definitely wanted to stay close to Olivia. His crush on her had started in kindergarten and grew through all their years together as classmates. Now he was taller and stronger and knew he could lift and carry her through any moves she wanted to make. Maybe it would work. “Okay,” he said. “We’ll give it a try.”

Practices began but they weren’t as smooth as Livi had hoped. Os didn’t have the grace he needed. After all, he was used to running and sliding into base. Lots of falls took place on both sides and it was a real challenge to schedule time together between gymnastics and baseball. As they plugged along through sophomore year, they became very close and a romance ensued. By junior year they were quite confident and comfortable with each other and thoroughly in love.

No one knew of their clandestine meetings until a Talent Show was announced during their senior year. They signed up to perform and worked diligently on a routine. Now they needed costumes so Livi asked mom to design and sew something for them. Everything was hush-hush and no one was the wiser.

The night finally arrived and their talent was announced:

OLIVIA and OSCAR ~ ACROBATICS

The gymnasium floor was perfect as they moved from corner to corner, across and around from side to side. Os lifted and carried Livi with ease. Everyone was awestruck at the grace and agility of these two as they twisted and twirled, and tumbled and curled. the finale brought a roar of cheer and applause.

Oscar held Livi in his arms and kissed her gently in front of the crowd. "Marry me," he said.

She kissed him back.